Sorry... Really didn't mean to slack off so impressively there... :)
I'm not enjoying my last trimester. I've been on modified bedrest for weeks, plus I managed to catch myself THE most impressive sinus infection EVER! *waits for applause* Plus, I also have what I suspected what bronchitis, but now believe to be asthma. Ever coughed til you puke nightly? Oh I have... Believe you me!
So, less than 2 weeks after I finished up my prescription of amoxicillin, I had to call the OB begging for a Z-Pak and something, ANYTHING! to help me breathe. He called in the Z-Pak and an inhaler of Ventolin (albuterol). Didn't matter much, as I ended up in the ER later that night (Sunday) because I flat out couldn't breathe. Felt like I was drowning. Wel... That and the fact I called twice to have the one-call doctor paged and no one bothered returning my call. *rawrs*
My O2 sats were OK, 96 - 98%... But, Calvin is one hyperactive little critter, lemme tell ya! Aaron convinced me to go to the ER because the Baby Bit wasn't moving very much-- which isn't like him at all. And if Mama can't breathe, baby can't breathe, right?
So, we went and they sent me to L&D. They got the monitors on me and all and then the nurses grew concerned because Calvin really just wasn't himself (read : he was asleep?). Then, they gave me 2 cups of orange juice and a pitcher of ice water and told me to drink to perk him up.
I did and BOY did he.
Poor nurse had to stand there for over an our holding the monitor and chasing the kid all over my belly. She said that she was SO calling in sick if she got a chance to before my induction. LOL I was told that they needed a steady 15 minute trace on his heartrate which took over 2 hours to get because he jumped from one side to the other and rolled around a lot. Which, let's just say is probably good as he started the night in some strange transverse-like position... But, with as mobile as he is, I do believe he has the capability of getting head down once more. Fingers crossed, anyways. I'd really rather not have a C-section, but... If I do, you'd better believe I'm having a tubal while they're in there!
Ok. I'll hush. It's just... I can't sleep, I have reflux something awful, drainage that's drowning me, and a hyperactive Baby Bit. LOL I stand NO CHANCE at rest, people.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Why are people SOOOO incredibly stupid?
I ask, because I'm on the phone with Bank of America. We used to have our mortgage through Countrywide, but Countrywide went bust (lemme tell ya, they needed to-- they SUCKED) BoA got to take over.
We got a letter in the mail... 3 months ago? It said "You do not have sufficient coverage on your home. Please contact us about this matter immediately." I called THAT DAY. The lovely half-English speaking man I spoke to said ,"Oh ma'am. We made a mistake. Your escrow account did not pay your insurance on time.. It IS taken care of now and we are so sorry."
OooooK. Fine. I called ALFA and checked. Yes. They screwed up, but it was all taken care of, now. *sigh* Fine.
Fast forward about 2 months. I get a bill in the mail (remember that blog? wasn't it FUN?) for $3300. For lender-placed insurance. Because I had chosen to NOT resolve the insurance issue. I immediately called BoA and they told me that our home was required to have wind coverage. I pointed out that this house, in the 10 years I've owned it, has NEVER had wind insurance. They did not care, because the house is required to have wind coverage. Fine. What about the guy I spoke to some WEEKS before? He was mistaken.
*growls*
Fine. We got an advance from Aaron's company and payed ALFA the next day for wind coverage (to the tune of $885). Which sucks. Because it means we have to pay his company back $100 a month that we really don't have. But, whatever. It was better than $3300, right?
Fast forward again, 2 - 3 weeks. We get a letter in the mail from BoA. With our "new house note" complements of the lender placed coverage. It's more than DOUBLE our usual house note. I call them, complaining. I explain that we HAVE wind coverage through ALFA and that they need to speak to my agent. Fine. They do, I assume. I wouldn't know. I got disconnected and when I tried to call back, I was assured it had been taken care of.
So, today, I call ALFA, just to double check things because, as I mentioned, people are stupid. ALFA assures me that they spoke to BoA and all is dandy.
I call BoA because... Well... People are stupid. BoA tells me that all is NOT dandy and that they will be refunding $2000 of the lender placed coverage, but that for the "lapse" I still owe them $1300. Ummm. No. I HAVE wind coverage. And it FOR THE YEAR was less than that.
I'm informed that if I had taken action SOONER, we wouldn't be having this issue. So... The dude I spoke to MONTHS AGO that was a moron-- he wasn't taking action? Of course not! He didn't update my file that I had spoken to him. So... The lovely (sorry, let me wipe the sarcasm spray off of your monitor) woman told me she would happily lower my payments in the meantime down to $$$$ which is over $50 more than our current house note (oh, don't forget the $100 a month we're paying back to hubby's work). No. I want our payments back to what they WERE before BoA screwed up. She informed me that our payments were REALLY over $1500 a month which is well over double what our payment is supposed to be and she was doing me a favor.
A favor? Really? Seems to me like she's just STEALING.
I'm so annoyed that I swear I might go into labor at any second. Seriously. I'm LIVID. And considering a lawyer. Know of any good ones?
I ask, because I'm on the phone with Bank of America. We used to have our mortgage through Countrywide, but Countrywide went bust (lemme tell ya, they needed to-- they SUCKED) BoA got to take over.
We got a letter in the mail... 3 months ago? It said "You do not have sufficient coverage on your home. Please contact us about this matter immediately." I called THAT DAY. The lovely half-English speaking man I spoke to said ,"Oh ma'am. We made a mistake. Your escrow account did not pay your insurance on time.. It IS taken care of now and we are so sorry."
OooooK. Fine. I called ALFA and checked. Yes. They screwed up, but it was all taken care of, now. *sigh* Fine.
Fast forward about 2 months. I get a bill in the mail (remember that blog? wasn't it FUN?) for $3300. For lender-placed insurance. Because I had chosen to NOT resolve the insurance issue. I immediately called BoA and they told me that our home was required to have wind coverage. I pointed out that this house, in the 10 years I've owned it, has NEVER had wind insurance. They did not care, because the house is required to have wind coverage. Fine. What about the guy I spoke to some WEEKS before? He was mistaken.
*growls*
Fine. We got an advance from Aaron's company and payed ALFA the next day for wind coverage (to the tune of $885). Which sucks. Because it means we have to pay his company back $100 a month that we really don't have. But, whatever. It was better than $3300, right?
Fast forward again, 2 - 3 weeks. We get a letter in the mail from BoA. With our "new house note" complements of the lender placed coverage. It's more than DOUBLE our usual house note. I call them, complaining. I explain that we HAVE wind coverage through ALFA and that they need to speak to my agent. Fine. They do, I assume. I wouldn't know. I got disconnected and when I tried to call back, I was assured it had been taken care of.
So, today, I call ALFA, just to double check things because, as I mentioned, people are stupid. ALFA assures me that they spoke to BoA and all is dandy.
I call BoA because... Well... People are stupid. BoA tells me that all is NOT dandy and that they will be refunding $2000 of the lender placed coverage, but that for the "lapse" I still owe them $1300. Ummm. No. I HAVE wind coverage. And it FOR THE YEAR was less than that.
I'm informed that if I had taken action SOONER, we wouldn't be having this issue. So... The dude I spoke to MONTHS AGO that was a moron-- he wasn't taking action? Of course not! He didn't update my file that I had spoken to him. So... The lovely (sorry, let me wipe the sarcasm spray off of your monitor) woman told me she would happily lower my payments in the meantime down to $$$$ which is over $50 more than our current house note (oh, don't forget the $100 a month we're paying back to hubby's work). No. I want our payments back to what they WERE before BoA screwed up. She informed me that our payments were REALLY over $1500 a month which is well over double what our payment is supposed to be and she was doing me a favor.
A favor? Really? Seems to me like she's just STEALING.
I'm so annoyed that I swear I might go into labor at any second. Seriously. I'm LIVID. And considering a lawyer. Know of any good ones?
Monday, July 27, 2009
What a weekend this has been!
Lizzie and I went shopping Friday for a storage unit for the playroom. Her daughter, Brenna, apparently LOATHES staying at home, so Lizzie needed a break... And I, of course, needed a place to stash the ungodly amounts of toys we've accumulated with only ONE child!
So, we went to Target. They had some cute little storage shelves with open plastic baskets... And some of the spiffy wall units that you stick fabric drawers in. The latter were on sale and I was pleased. We loitered in the aisle for a good hour, admiring fabric drawers, looking for this cool spin-y island dealie, and listening to my sweet daughter talking at the top of her lungs (Brenna was sound asleep in the Moby).
But, of course, Liz and I both knew we'd seen them at Home Depot or Lowes or something and SURELY they would be cheaper than Target. Riiiiiiiiiiight. So, we packed up our children in our respective cars and booked it over to Home Depot (right across the street). They had one storage unit, but it was neither nice, nor cheap. Boo! My back was killing me, so I sat on a lovely display of outdoor furniture they had set up just inside the doors while Ainsley (and Aunt Lizzie!) raced around the place exclaiming "Lights!" (The light fixture section apparently was a bit overwhleming for her).
After my back quit throbbing quite so much, we wandered back over to Target. I had admitted defeat and wanted to use one of their little motorized scooters. Seriously, it take a LOT for me to admit I can't go anymore, but... I SO could not. And ya know what? Neither of the ones they had were charged. Grr.
Anyways. I waddled back to the back and Lizzie and I hauled the heavy thingie into the cart and we checked out. By this time, I was fairly certain I was dying (Liz agreed). We stopepd at the little Target Employment kiosk and I sat for another 30 minutes or so, just to get the gumption to make it out to the car.
And that was the EASY part!
Since Friday night, I've had contractions at the mere THOUGHT of doing anything. I gathered up laundry Saturday night and actually had to go lie down my back and belly were throbbing so much. Aaron and I kept talking about me going to L&D... But, that's a copay that just seemed unncessary. frankly, we don't have $150 to plop down to be told to drink more water and rest. (When we called Friday night because I was CRYING in pain, the nurse told Aaron to have me take a tylenol, a hot shower, and go to bed. Thanks, lady.)
Then, last night, the contractions started up again and they were AWFUL! A few came every 2 minutes, but them started to slack off so that it was between 7 and 22 minutes between... And then the ebbed off all together. I'm only 31 weeks! I don't TRULY believe I'm in LABOR. I just believe SOMETHING is going on. Something that ain't quite right.
So, I called in this morning and am going to the doctor at 11:15. I'll update when I get back-- presuming he doesn't just say "Well, if they were REAL contractions, you'd have a baby by now!" in which case I will be in jail for murder. :)
Lizzie and I went shopping Friday for a storage unit for the playroom. Her daughter, Brenna, apparently LOATHES staying at home, so Lizzie needed a break... And I, of course, needed a place to stash the ungodly amounts of toys we've accumulated with only ONE child!
So, we went to Target. They had some cute little storage shelves with open plastic baskets... And some of the spiffy wall units that you stick fabric drawers in. The latter were on sale and I was pleased. We loitered in the aisle for a good hour, admiring fabric drawers, looking for this cool spin-y island dealie, and listening to my sweet daughter talking at the top of her lungs (Brenna was sound asleep in the Moby).
But, of course, Liz and I both knew we'd seen them at Home Depot or Lowes or something and SURELY they would be cheaper than Target. Riiiiiiiiiiight. So, we packed up our children in our respective cars and booked it over to Home Depot (right across the street). They had one storage unit, but it was neither nice, nor cheap. Boo! My back was killing me, so I sat on a lovely display of outdoor furniture they had set up just inside the doors while Ainsley (and Aunt Lizzie!) raced around the place exclaiming "Lights!" (The light fixture section apparently was a bit overwhleming for her).
After my back quit throbbing quite so much, we wandered back over to Target. I had admitted defeat and wanted to use one of their little motorized scooters. Seriously, it take a LOT for me to admit I can't go anymore, but... I SO could not. And ya know what? Neither of the ones they had were charged. Grr.
Anyways. I waddled back to the back and Lizzie and I hauled the heavy thingie into the cart and we checked out. By this time, I was fairly certain I was dying (Liz agreed). We stopepd at the little Target Employment kiosk and I sat for another 30 minutes or so, just to get the gumption to make it out to the car.
And that was the EASY part!
Since Friday night, I've had contractions at the mere THOUGHT of doing anything. I gathered up laundry Saturday night and actually had to go lie down my back and belly were throbbing so much. Aaron and I kept talking about me going to L&D... But, that's a copay that just seemed unncessary. frankly, we don't have $150 to plop down to be told to drink more water and rest. (When we called Friday night because I was CRYING in pain, the nurse told Aaron to have me take a tylenol, a hot shower, and go to bed. Thanks, lady.)
Then, last night, the contractions started up again and they were AWFUL! A few came every 2 minutes, but them started to slack off so that it was between 7 and 22 minutes between... And then the ebbed off all together. I'm only 31 weeks! I don't TRULY believe I'm in LABOR. I just believe SOMETHING is going on. Something that ain't quite right.
So, I called in this morning and am going to the doctor at 11:15. I'll update when I get back-- presuming he doesn't just say "Well, if they were REAL contractions, you'd have a baby by now!" in which case I will be in jail for murder. :)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Well, we're still here. We've surviving...
Oh.
Why, you ask?
Today is the 8 month anniversary of Ainsley's diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. 8 months have dulled the pain of knowing my baby has a chronic disease... But, dull or not, the pain's still there. I suppose it always will be.
I think the real kicker here is... I wouldn't have even realized it was 8 months today. Honestly. But, I'm up waiting to see where her blood sugar goes after treating a low and came online to double check with my "Diabetes Mentor" if you will, that I was handling it properly.
See, Ainsley was being a monkey and crawling all over me. So, I said, "Hey Bit. Why don't you go crawl up in bed and Mama'll watch some TV with you?"
She scurried off (little TV addict!). I finished up what I was doing and walked into the room... And there she was, sound asleep in her toddler bed. She NEVER goes to sleep so early... Let alone with out many choruses of "Night-night!" and much sugar from Mama and Daddy.
So, out comes the trusty meter. She's at 74, which is too low for her to sleep on. Plus, after checking her pump, I see that she still has IOB (insulin on board). That means that she still has insulin in her that hasn't completely kicked in, so she'll go lower still. Lovely.
So, I go and get a juice box because she can drink from a straw while she sleeps. If you don't know a "D" kid, lemme tell you... There's just something heartbreaking about watching them drink in their sleep to live. It's just... Wrong. :( But, I don't get that jolt tonight because she's unwilling to drink. I finally managed to squirt about a third of the Juicy Juice into her mouth (another quarter of it down the sleeve of her nightgown). 15 minutes later, she's at 108.
Now, I'm just killing time to test again at the 30 minute mark to see if I need to FORCE her awake to drink the rest. And.. Happy Anniversary.
A friend, another D parents told me I shouldn't be sad. I should celebrate. Because we are LIVING with diabetes rather than the alternative. So...
Yay.
I guess.
Oh.
Why, you ask?
Today is the 8 month anniversary of Ainsley's diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. 8 months have dulled the pain of knowing my baby has a chronic disease... But, dull or not, the pain's still there. I suppose it always will be.
I think the real kicker here is... I wouldn't have even realized it was 8 months today. Honestly. But, I'm up waiting to see where her blood sugar goes after treating a low and came online to double check with my "Diabetes Mentor" if you will, that I was handling it properly.
See, Ainsley was being a monkey and crawling all over me. So, I said, "Hey Bit. Why don't you go crawl up in bed and Mama'll watch some TV with you?"
She scurried off (little TV addict!). I finished up what I was doing and walked into the room... And there she was, sound asleep in her toddler bed. She NEVER goes to sleep so early... Let alone with out many choruses of "Night-night!" and much sugar from Mama and Daddy.
So, out comes the trusty meter. She's at 74, which is too low for her to sleep on. Plus, after checking her pump, I see that she still has IOB (insulin on board). That means that she still has insulin in her that hasn't completely kicked in, so she'll go lower still. Lovely.
So, I go and get a juice box because she can drink from a straw while she sleeps. If you don't know a "D" kid, lemme tell you... There's just something heartbreaking about watching them drink in their sleep to live. It's just... Wrong. :( But, I don't get that jolt tonight because she's unwilling to drink. I finally managed to squirt about a third of the Juicy Juice into her mouth (another quarter of it down the sleeve of her nightgown). 15 minutes later, she's at 108.
Now, I'm just killing time to test again at the 30 minute mark to see if I need to FORCE her awake to drink the rest. And.. Happy Anniversary.
A friend, another D parents told me I shouldn't be sad. I should celebrate. Because we are LIVING with diabetes rather than the alternative. So...
Yay.
I guess.
Friday, July 17, 2009
I thought that once you were an adult, you didn't have times when you cried like your heart was breaking because someone didn't like you. The past hour really has proven to me that you're never too old to get your feeling hurt enough to cry like a baby.
I'm sure being pregnant doesn't help my emotional state.
Why am I upset, you ask? It's because I'm... Alone. And not by my choice. Sure, I have my family. They love me... They have to. I'm pretty sure it's in the contract.
Don't get me wrong... I'm know I'm a bit strange. I always have been. I'm not too great at making friends. In fact, the people I'm closest to, I've known for years and years. Just because if they DO like me, I gotta hang onto 'em since I probably won't luck out and find others who tolerate me well.
My mom says I've never related well to people, even since infancy. I suspect I have Asperger Syndrome but am on the higher functioning end of it. People and most of their interactions just completely surpass me. And it's always come back to bite me in the butt that I don't know how to act normal when the chips are down. Sure, I can fake it in small doses, but apparently not very well once people get to know me.
And it just hurts, ya know? Well, no. You probably don't. You're probably normal. Lucky duck.
I'm sure being pregnant doesn't help my emotional state.
Why am I upset, you ask? It's because I'm... Alone. And not by my choice. Sure, I have my family. They love me... They have to. I'm pretty sure it's in the contract.
Don't get me wrong... I'm know I'm a bit strange. I always have been. I'm not too great at making friends. In fact, the people I'm closest to, I've known for years and years. Just because if they DO like me, I gotta hang onto 'em since I probably won't luck out and find others who tolerate me well.
My mom says I've never related well to people, even since infancy. I suspect I have Asperger Syndrome but am on the higher functioning end of it. People and most of their interactions just completely surpass me. And it's always come back to bite me in the butt that I don't know how to act normal when the chips are down. Sure, I can fake it in small doses, but apparently not very well once people get to know me.
And it just hurts, ya know? Well, no. You probably don't. You're probably normal. Lucky duck.
Monday, July 13, 2009
I just had a startling realization.
Remember me talking about our faithfulness with our finances? And how Aaron and I are making it a POINT to tithe first thing each month? ...And how I said money was super tight anyway? Even with paying out the tithe.., Money's not any tighter than it ever has been. God is so good.
Amazing how much money we just BLOW without thinking anything of it, I guess. I mean, I suppose I already *knew* that we were wasteful. It just amazes me how much God can put it all in perspective when we listen.
...wow...
Remember me talking about our faithfulness with our finances? And how Aaron and I are making it a POINT to tithe first thing each month? ...And how I said money was super tight anyway? Even with paying out the tithe.., Money's not any tighter than it ever has been. God is so good.
Amazing how much money we just BLOW without thinking anything of it, I guess. I mean, I suppose I already *knew* that we were wasteful. It just amazes me how much God can put it all in perspective when we listen.
...wow...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Gonna be a short one... I promise!
LOL Mostly just because I have so much to do today that I can't hang out and chatter like a loon. (And all God's people said, "Amen!")
Aaron's painting the nursery/playroom today and I'm working on getting the floors and stuff scrubbed down. :) I think nesting is the only time I have an urge to get on my hands and knees and scrub anything. Ainsley, of course, is "hewping". She's gathered up all of the dirty socks out of daddy's hamper and has her very own little hamper she's been toting around the house. So precious!
Anyways, I just had to update that my car is running and the a/c works! Praise God! AND it was fully covered under the warranty. Even bigger praise, there... Methinks they don't like doing warranty work too much. ;) Also, I'm working towards becoming a "disciple" of www.flylady.net. I'm tired of STRUGGLING to get ahead in the cleaning... I'm gonna get ahead and STAY THERE! Especially since no matter how hard I pray, a maid just never shows up at the door. Hmmm. That must be a "want" and not a "need" according to God... Who knew? :)
So, we're having a nice, uneventful weekend so far-- and let's hope it stays that way!!!
Aaron's painting the nursery/playroom today and I'm working on getting the floors and stuff scrubbed down. :) I think nesting is the only time I have an urge to get on my hands and knees and scrub anything. Ainsley, of course, is "hewping". She's gathered up all of the dirty socks out of daddy's hamper and has her very own little hamper she's been toting around the house. So precious!
Anyways, I just had to update that my car is running and the a/c works! Praise God! AND it was fully covered under the warranty. Even bigger praise, there... Methinks they don't like doing warranty work too much. ;) Also, I'm working towards becoming a "disciple" of www.flylady.net. I'm tired of STRUGGLING to get ahead in the cleaning... I'm gonna get ahead and STAY THERE! Especially since no matter how hard I pray, a maid just never shows up at the door. Hmmm. That must be a "want" and not a "need" according to God... Who knew? :)
So, we're having a nice, uneventful weekend so far-- and let's hope it stays that way!!!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
"So, when your car breaks down, when you get in a wreck, when all of this CRAP happens... Are you thinking 'OK God. What do you want me to learn from this? Or do you have a fit?'"
That's a paraphrase of what John said in Sunday School last weekend. So... Fine. What is God wanting me to learn? I must be pretty thick-headed because God's really on me!
We hadn't planned to go out today. Ainsley's been having some anxiety attacks that we'll chalk up to her illness and subsequent hospital visit last week, coupled with exhaustion. You know it's bad when I've taken the time to google the possibility of brain damage due to a sustained high fever. (If you're curious, though, the fever would have to hit 107.6 for brain damage to be a possibility...) But, our insurance agent gave us a quote of $900 for wind coverage which, compared to the $3300 I mentioned in my last post, is pocket change. Aaron had to get an advance from work which we'll pay back monthly but... At least it's taken care of now.
So, we went to ALFA, had to make a deposit at the bank, and planned to run by the post office... And then, my genius self said, "Hey! I can just do all of the errands while I'm out and Ainsley and I can spend Thursday and Friday at home with nothing to do!" Plus, ya know... Gas is expensive! Killing 2 birds (5 errands) with 1 stone (1 trip) seemed cost effective.
So, that meant we'd also run by Lowe's and grab paint samples for the playroom/nursery (as well as the insurance errand, the bank, the post office errand, and getting the a/c fixed). See how frugal and methodical I was??? ...Right. LOL
Well, the insurance thing went OK. The agent had actually given me a wrong quote. But, before I could ruin my Christian testimony with some choice words he informed me that it was only $885 rather than $901. Rock 'n roll. Ainsley was a little antsy while I signed paperwork, but she got a dumdum lollipop out of it, so she tolerated it well. I even remembered to give her insulin for it (have I mentioned we LOVE our pump?).
So, we set off for our credit union. La dee dah... Got there, pulled up to the drive through and... "Closed due to an emergency- please visit our closest branch at _____". What? They don't KNOW where their nearest branch is?? Our bank has 2 branches. One in WeMo (West Mobile) and one just out of MiMo (Midtown Mobile). Believe me... The MiMo one is not convenient for ANYONE without a meth addiction. Rawr. So, we go to MiMo. (Have I mentioned it's not convenient?) And... It's closed. Due to computer issues. Double Rawr! I threw the deposit in the drop box (which I SUPPOSE I could have done at the WeMo branch, but thought perhaps they were being robbed and I didn't want to have my deposit, piddly though it might be, stolen.
OK. Now, we'll run to the post office... Ummm. No. The line was out the door. We'll run to Toyota. We have an extended warranty. Surely the stinkin' a/c is covered? Lizzie is meeting us there to take me back to her place so I can admire it's cleanliness, so I'm expecting this to take a while.
The Bit and I go in, I tell the service manager that my a/c is possessed and could they pleased exorcise it? (No, I didn't actually say it was possessed... But, I HAVE been wondering) He said, "K. It'll be about 30 minutes."
30 minutes? Seriously? That's like, NO time. He must know it's a loose fuse or something. I see Lizzie and Brenna pulling in the lot, so I leave my cell number (and Liz's because my battery is SO dead) and we go across the street to have a nibble and chat since it so doesn't make sense to go to Theodore from the beltline...
Maybe 45 minutes later my phone rings. All done! Yay! Plus, it's all covered by the warranty. Double Yay! Liz and I let our kids wreak havoc for just a bit longer (hey, they're good at it-- mine's running laps around the place and Brenna is growling at her Mama's sweet tea for all she's worth). Then, we go back and I tell Liz thanks and decide to run to the post office.
Ummm. Why is there no cold air? Seriously? They fixed this? We parked at the mall post office since it was closest. I called Toyota and griped, they said to come back and they'd fix it. I said, "Great. Lemme run into the post office real quick and I'll be back in about 15 minutes." (Ha! Hahahahahahahah!) I load Her Highness into the stroller, grab the packages going out for eBay, trot into the mall and... Are you KIDDING me? There are AT LEAST 27½ people in line in front of me. How 'bout NO?
We scurry back outside, just as a nice drizzle starts (but I'm not complaining, it feels better than our oven of a car!). I load Prissy into the car, throw the packages back into the passenger seat, and high tail it back to Toyota. Of course, JUST as we're turning into the lot, the a/c starts blowing cold. RAWR RAWR RAWR!
The service manager says, "Umm. It's cold. What's the problem?" I remove the sweaty critter from her car seat and explain that the a/c JUST came on-- that I had TOLD them it was going in and out... He kinda looks at me like, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiight." Then, he proceeds to tell me that maybe it's a freon (sp?) issue and they need to do a full flush on it. Which is not covered by warranty. And it $150. I protested, pointing out that a car that is less than 3 years old should not have as many issues as our's does. He said, "Well, ma'am, what do you want me to do?" I responded (much more politely than I felt like!), "Sir, I want you to FIX IT. And not charge me for it since we PAID for the stinkin' extended warranty!"
He said he'd see what he could do, but... That because I'd brought my car to them so late in the afternoon (it's now 4:10) that I would have to bring the car back tomorrow because the flush would take about an hour and they close at 5:00. I pointed out that I'd brought my car to them at around 2:00 and they'd failed to fix the issue. He offered me a rental car. I was suspicious and said, "For free?" "Oh no ma'am. It's $50 per day." RAWR. I told him no, I'd bring it back tomorrow and that I was less than thrilled with Toyota in general.
I really needed to get these packages in the mail to we swooped into the post office parking lot at 4:25 (they close at 4:30). and praise the Lord, there are, like, 3 people in line. We can handle that. Everyone admired my little piggie-tailed beastie and told her she was so pretty and sweet (which she ate up!). And the packages went out when I said they would (Small victory for you... HUGE victory in my world!).
I decided to forget about Lowe's as Ainsley needed a nap and... Well... I'm pregnant. I needed one, too! So, we headed for home. Joy. There's a wreck on the road leading to my house. An impressive one, I assume. We sat completely still for 20 minutes (in our un-air conditioned and almost out of gas car) before I turned around to head to my mom's (and a gas station).
She's not there. Mini-rawr. Fine. I ran in to use the hosue phone to tell my hubby to avoid the wreck on the way home and go the long way... Which passes by my mom's best friend's house. We're cruising along and I see my mom's car in the driveway. At the VERY last second, I decide that Ainsley woudl like to see Grandmama, just for a second, so we turn in the driveway and...
...
...
Yup. You guessed it. My car STOPS. As in breaks down. As in that sucker is gonna have to be towed. And ya know what my first reaction was?
"Alright God. WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME?!?!?!?" I mean, obviously, He's not trying to torture me. If He was, I would have broken down on the empty stretch of 6 miles with my cell phone battery dead, right? He at least let me get into Shelby's driveway (BARELY!!!) before my car went kaput. So, I fish out the kiddo and we trudge up her quarter of a mile driveway.
My mom meets me at the back door saying, "What happened?" I resisted my urge to say, "Oh, we felt like taking a walk" and told her the truth. So, then she asked me why the car broke down. I assured her that if I knew, it wouldn't be broken down. Oy. Moms and their questions. LOL And I just KNOW that one day Ainsley'll be thinking the same thing about me. Scary, huh?
I sat down at the counter and chatted politely for a few minutes. Then, I burst into tears. I mean... I'm just SO FRUSTRATED! Mom and Shelby both hug me and mom goes to help Shelby into bed (FYI, Shelby is on hospice due to terminal cancer-- say a little prayer for her. She feels so alone right now. :( ). I picked up the phone to update Aaron on where I was... And then called Lizzie, just to laugh at the situation. And you can ask her. I DID laugh! It was that or cry some more. And I'm DONE crying about this, dang it!
I also have to wonder... Is it because Aaron and I are on the right track that Satan just has to pounce us? I mean, our faithfulness must pose a HUGE threat to ol' Beelzebub if he's this worried about us tithing and getting back into God's Word. And if we're threatening the devil THIS MUCH... Hey! That's pretty darn good, right? In fact, I'm even a little excited!
Fear our faithfulness, Satan. Because you're NOT GONNA WIN. We've got the bigger and better player on our team. And HE certainly won't let us down.
(p.s. I had this entire entry almost done when FireFox went haywire and closed itself down. And auto-recovery on the blogger site didn't work. Coincidence? I think not! So, I sat my rump here and typed it ALL back out again. And WOW I type a LOT more than I talk! ;) )
That's a paraphrase of what John said in Sunday School last weekend. So... Fine. What is God wanting me to learn? I must be pretty thick-headed because God's really on me!
We hadn't planned to go out today. Ainsley's been having some anxiety attacks that we'll chalk up to her illness and subsequent hospital visit last week, coupled with exhaustion. You know it's bad when I've taken the time to google the possibility of brain damage due to a sustained high fever. (If you're curious, though, the fever would have to hit 107.6 for brain damage to be a possibility...) But, our insurance agent gave us a quote of $900 for wind coverage which, compared to the $3300 I mentioned in my last post, is pocket change. Aaron had to get an advance from work which we'll pay back monthly but... At least it's taken care of now.
So, we went to ALFA, had to make a deposit at the bank, and planned to run by the post office... And then, my genius self said, "Hey! I can just do all of the errands while I'm out and Ainsley and I can spend Thursday and Friday at home with nothing to do!" Plus, ya know... Gas is expensive! Killing 2 birds (5 errands) with 1 stone (1 trip) seemed cost effective.
So, that meant we'd also run by Lowe's and grab paint samples for the playroom/nursery (as well as the insurance errand, the bank, the post office errand, and getting the a/c fixed). See how frugal and methodical I was??? ...Right. LOL
Well, the insurance thing went OK. The agent had actually given me a wrong quote. But, before I could ruin my Christian testimony with some choice words he informed me that it was only $885 rather than $901. Rock 'n roll. Ainsley was a little antsy while I signed paperwork, but she got a dumdum lollipop out of it, so she tolerated it well. I even remembered to give her insulin for it (have I mentioned we LOVE our pump?).
So, we set off for our credit union. La dee dah... Got there, pulled up to the drive through and... "Closed due to an emergency- please visit our closest branch at _____". What? They don't KNOW where their nearest branch is?? Our bank has 2 branches. One in WeMo (West Mobile) and one just out of MiMo (Midtown Mobile). Believe me... The MiMo one is not convenient for ANYONE without a meth addiction. Rawr. So, we go to MiMo. (Have I mentioned it's not convenient?) And... It's closed. Due to computer issues. Double Rawr! I threw the deposit in the drop box (which I SUPPOSE I could have done at the WeMo branch, but thought perhaps they were being robbed and I didn't want to have my deposit, piddly though it might be, stolen.
OK. Now, we'll run to the post office... Ummm. No. The line was out the door. We'll run to Toyota. We have an extended warranty. Surely the stinkin' a/c is covered? Lizzie is meeting us there to take me back to her place so I can admire it's cleanliness, so I'm expecting this to take a while.
The Bit and I go in, I tell the service manager that my a/c is possessed and could they pleased exorcise it? (No, I didn't actually say it was possessed... But, I HAVE been wondering) He said, "K. It'll be about 30 minutes."
30 minutes? Seriously? That's like, NO time. He must know it's a loose fuse or something. I see Lizzie and Brenna pulling in the lot, so I leave my cell number (and Liz's because my battery is SO dead) and we go across the street to have a nibble and chat since it so doesn't make sense to go to Theodore from the beltline...
Maybe 45 minutes later my phone rings. All done! Yay! Plus, it's all covered by the warranty. Double Yay! Liz and I let our kids wreak havoc for just a bit longer (hey, they're good at it-- mine's running laps around the place and Brenna is growling at her Mama's sweet tea for all she's worth). Then, we go back and I tell Liz thanks and decide to run to the post office.
Ummm. Why is there no cold air? Seriously? They fixed this? We parked at the mall post office since it was closest. I called Toyota and griped, they said to come back and they'd fix it. I said, "Great. Lemme run into the post office real quick and I'll be back in about 15 minutes." (Ha! Hahahahahahahah!) I load Her Highness into the stroller, grab the packages going out for eBay, trot into the mall and... Are you KIDDING me? There are AT LEAST 27½ people in line in front of me. How 'bout NO?
We scurry back outside, just as a nice drizzle starts (but I'm not complaining, it feels better than our oven of a car!). I load Prissy into the car, throw the packages back into the passenger seat, and high tail it back to Toyota. Of course, JUST as we're turning into the lot, the a/c starts blowing cold. RAWR RAWR RAWR!
The service manager says, "Umm. It's cold. What's the problem?" I remove the sweaty critter from her car seat and explain that the a/c JUST came on-- that I had TOLD them it was going in and out... He kinda looks at me like, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiight." Then, he proceeds to tell me that maybe it's a freon (sp?) issue and they need to do a full flush on it. Which is not covered by warranty. And it $150. I protested, pointing out that a car that is less than 3 years old should not have as many issues as our's does. He said, "Well, ma'am, what do you want me to do?" I responded (much more politely than I felt like!), "Sir, I want you to FIX IT. And not charge me for it since we PAID for the stinkin' extended warranty!"
He said he'd see what he could do, but... That because I'd brought my car to them so late in the afternoon (it's now 4:10) that I would have to bring the car back tomorrow because the flush would take about an hour and they close at 5:00. I pointed out that I'd brought my car to them at around 2:00 and they'd failed to fix the issue. He offered me a rental car. I was suspicious and said, "For free?" "Oh no ma'am. It's $50 per day." RAWR. I told him no, I'd bring it back tomorrow and that I was less than thrilled with Toyota in general.
I really needed to get these packages in the mail to we swooped into the post office parking lot at 4:25 (they close at 4:30). and praise the Lord, there are, like, 3 people in line. We can handle that. Everyone admired my little piggie-tailed beastie and told her she was so pretty and sweet (which she ate up!). And the packages went out when I said they would (Small victory for you... HUGE victory in my world!).
I decided to forget about Lowe's as Ainsley needed a nap and... Well... I'm pregnant. I needed one, too! So, we headed for home. Joy. There's a wreck on the road leading to my house. An impressive one, I assume. We sat completely still for 20 minutes (in our un-air conditioned and almost out of gas car) before I turned around to head to my mom's (and a gas station).
She's not there. Mini-rawr. Fine. I ran in to use the hosue phone to tell my hubby to avoid the wreck on the way home and go the long way... Which passes by my mom's best friend's house. We're cruising along and I see my mom's car in the driveway. At the VERY last second, I decide that Ainsley woudl like to see Grandmama, just for a second, so we turn in the driveway and...
...
...
Yup. You guessed it. My car STOPS. As in breaks down. As in that sucker is gonna have to be towed. And ya know what my first reaction was?
"Alright God. WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME?!?!?!?" I mean, obviously, He's not trying to torture me. If He was, I would have broken down on the empty stretch of 6 miles with my cell phone battery dead, right? He at least let me get into Shelby's driveway (BARELY!!!) before my car went kaput. So, I fish out the kiddo and we trudge up her quarter of a mile driveway.
My mom meets me at the back door saying, "What happened?" I resisted my urge to say, "Oh, we felt like taking a walk" and told her the truth. So, then she asked me why the car broke down. I assured her that if I knew, it wouldn't be broken down. Oy. Moms and their questions. LOL And I just KNOW that one day Ainsley'll be thinking the same thing about me. Scary, huh?
I sat down at the counter and chatted politely for a few minutes. Then, I burst into tears. I mean... I'm just SO FRUSTRATED! Mom and Shelby both hug me and mom goes to help Shelby into bed (FYI, Shelby is on hospice due to terminal cancer-- say a little prayer for her. She feels so alone right now. :( ). I picked up the phone to update Aaron on where I was... And then called Lizzie, just to laugh at the situation. And you can ask her. I DID laugh! It was that or cry some more. And I'm DONE crying about this, dang it!
I also have to wonder... Is it because Aaron and I are on the right track that Satan just has to pounce us? I mean, our faithfulness must pose a HUGE threat to ol' Beelzebub if he's this worried about us tithing and getting back into God's Word. And if we're threatening the devil THIS MUCH... Hey! That's pretty darn good, right? In fact, I'm even a little excited!
Fear our faithfulness, Satan. Because you're NOT GONNA WIN. We've got the bigger and better player on our team. And HE certainly won't let us down.
(p.s. I had this entire entry almost done when FireFox went haywire and closed itself down. And auto-recovery on the blogger site didn't work. Coincidence? I think not! So, I sat my rump here and typed it ALL back out again. And WOW I type a LOT more than I talk! ;) )
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Read this one for a laugh...
Ok. Get ready, because this will be the blog where you think I need some kinda of medication for MPD (multiple personality disorder). I know my blog is new, but obviously, I've spent a good deal of time talking about faithfulness and God's blessings, right? And I BELIEVE the things I talk about. So... Yeah...
I felt that God was urging me to start this blog from the get-go, which is why the URL is "livingforgodinbama" instead of my usual references to type 1 diabetes, mommyhood, gymnastics, etc. So, I'm happily blogging away on Friday, talking about awesome our Heavenly Father is, how He meets our needs, and how it's truly an adventure relying on faith... When the mail comes.
Yay! Bills! My favorite! (Just in case my sarcasm isn't dripping down your monitor, be assured I'm being obnoxious) But, in this case it was OK, because I'd JUST paid almost everything online. I'm too scatterbrained to buy stamps and actually get things mailed out, so I make all of the payments online. I saw a letter from our mortgage company which I ASSUMED was just our monthly statement. No problem, right? I'd just paid the house note... I cracked it open anyways and...
Omigosh...
My jaw hit the floor...
It was a bill for $3300.00. For lender-placed wind/hail coverage on our house. Because, apparently, the insurance that's been on the house for the past TEN DANG YEARS is no longer sufficient? I dunno. Can they even DO that?? Of course they can! Why? Who knows... Probably because it's not like I can fight back.
I immediately grabbed my cell phone and called my ALFA guy... Who is conveniently out of the office. OK, OK... It's July 3rd... Most people used the 3rd as their Independence Day since the actual holiday so rudely fell on a weekend when they couldn't capitalize on a holiday from work(I say this grouchily as my hubby CERTAINLY didn't get the day off!).
So, I called Bank of America to ask if there had been a mistake. The lady I talked to was unsure, but that "due to the recent catastrophic events in the area..." Yadda yadda yadda "...we DO require more home owners insurance for homes still being paid off." In her defense, she was fairly helpful as she offered to contact ALFA to see if our current policy was sufficient for the coastal area. I told her that the office was closed and that I'd be in touch with both ALFA and BoA on Monday.
Then, I sat here and cried. No, wait... That's giving me too much credit. I called my husband SOBBING like a baby and ranting that here we are trying to do what God wants us to... That we're being faithful... And what the HECK is God thinking??? (In my defense, I AM 7 months pregnant and happily blame most of the drama on my hormones... And if you know me and disagree-- HUSH! I didn't ask you, did I?)
Then, I fired off an email to our Sunday School teacher out of sheer frustration. She KNOWS we're fighting to be faithful and is one of the most encouraging women I've ever met. But, I also knew that I was ranting out of sheer frustration with God, so I kinda felt guilty sending it. I mean, here is this wonderfully faithful woman-- who's had to deal with plenty of financial adversity-- and I'm having a flat out temper tantrum about God. She didn't disappoint... She was understanding and didn't even call me a crybaby, although surely the term must've entered her mind. LOL
But, now... I've had time to cool down. And to think about it. And, oddly enough, to read back over what I've written so far. And God got me. Who am I to whine and moan at God? He gives us everything, right? He only asks for a tenth of it in return... What a generous God we serve!
Am I still stressed? Sure! I'm not gonna lie. But, am I PANICKING and looking for a bankruptcy lawyer? Nah. God is in control and I'm just going to have to accept that. I might not even understand his plan... But, it's His and I'm sure it's better than anything I could come up with!
This morning in Sunday School, I mentioned that even though we possibly have a bill for over $3000, I still had our family's tithe check written out and that sucker was going into the offering plate! John, the husband of the teacher I mentioned previously, laughed and labeled that "determined faith."
And you know what? That's a label I'm kinda proud to have!
I felt that God was urging me to start this blog from the get-go, which is why the URL is "livingforgodinbama" instead of my usual references to type 1 diabetes, mommyhood, gymnastics, etc. So, I'm happily blogging away on Friday, talking about awesome our Heavenly Father is, how He meets our needs, and how it's truly an adventure relying on faith... When the mail comes.
Yay! Bills! My favorite! (Just in case my sarcasm isn't dripping down your monitor, be assured I'm being obnoxious) But, in this case it was OK, because I'd JUST paid almost everything online. I'm too scatterbrained to buy stamps and actually get things mailed out, so I make all of the payments online. I saw a letter from our mortgage company which I ASSUMED was just our monthly statement. No problem, right? I'd just paid the house note... I cracked it open anyways and...
Omigosh...
My jaw hit the floor...
It was a bill for $3300.00. For lender-placed wind/hail coverage on our house. Because, apparently, the insurance that's been on the house for the past TEN DANG YEARS is no longer sufficient? I dunno. Can they even DO that?? Of course they can! Why? Who knows... Probably because it's not like I can fight back.
I immediately grabbed my cell phone and called my ALFA guy... Who is conveniently out of the office. OK, OK... It's July 3rd... Most people used the 3rd as their Independence Day since the actual holiday so rudely fell on a weekend when they couldn't capitalize on a holiday from work(I say this grouchily as my hubby CERTAINLY didn't get the day off!).
So, I called Bank of America to ask if there had been a mistake. The lady I talked to was unsure, but that "due to the recent catastrophic events in the area..." Yadda yadda yadda "...we DO require more home owners insurance for homes still being paid off." In her defense, she was fairly helpful as she offered to contact ALFA to see if our current policy was sufficient for the coastal area. I told her that the office was closed and that I'd be in touch with both ALFA and BoA on Monday.
Then, I sat here and cried. No, wait... That's giving me too much credit. I called my husband SOBBING like a baby and ranting that here we are trying to do what God wants us to... That we're being faithful... And what the HECK is God thinking??? (In my defense, I AM 7 months pregnant and happily blame most of the drama on my hormones... And if you know me and disagree-- HUSH! I didn't ask you, did I?)
Then, I fired off an email to our Sunday School teacher out of sheer frustration. She KNOWS we're fighting to be faithful and is one of the most encouraging women I've ever met. But, I also knew that I was ranting out of sheer frustration with God, so I kinda felt guilty sending it. I mean, here is this wonderfully faithful woman-- who's had to deal with plenty of financial adversity-- and I'm having a flat out temper tantrum about God. She didn't disappoint... She was understanding and didn't even call me a crybaby, although surely the term must've entered her mind. LOL
But, now... I've had time to cool down. And to think about it. And, oddly enough, to read back over what I've written so far. And God got me. Who am I to whine and moan at God? He gives us everything, right? He only asks for a tenth of it in return... What a generous God we serve!
Am I still stressed? Sure! I'm not gonna lie. But, am I PANICKING and looking for a bankruptcy lawyer? Nah. God is in control and I'm just going to have to accept that. I might not even understand his plan... But, it's His and I'm sure it's better than anything I could come up with!
This morning in Sunday School, I mentioned that even though we possibly have a bill for over $3000, I still had our family's tithe check written out and that sucker was going into the offering plate! John, the husband of the teacher I mentioned previously, laughed and labeled that "determined faith."
And you know what? That's a label I'm kinda proud to have!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
I'm Proud to be an American!
God Bless the USA! I just want to say thank you to all of the men and women who have served and ARE serving our wonderful country. Thank you SO MUCH for everything you do for all of us!! We've just had a cookout with friends and are headed down to the Battleship for the citywide fireworks display.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
Friday, July 3, 2009
This is gonna be a blog about financial faithfulness. Why? Because God is telling me to document all this stuff for Him. And who'm I to argue?
My husband and I are involved in a Sunday School class at Dayspring Baptist Church here in Mobile. It's run by a husband and wife team of teachers, John and Lori, whom we love dearly. Each week in class, they strive to set up "billboards" in our brains reminding us of what we've talked about as the week goes on. Now, as much as John loves that sex comes up in some way, shape, or form each week (we're all married, we're allowed!)... Most of our lessons center around faithfulness. Of course to our spouses, but also to God. Particularly with our time and finances. Eek.
Now, I don't know about your family, but... We pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. I say pretty much because sometimes... We don't quite make it and have to show up at my Mama's door for dinner. I think a few weeks ago, I probably would have chosen death over admitting that to anyone. Now... Things are different.
As I mentioned in previous posts, I worked part time as a competitive gymnastics coach up until super recently. I used to own my own Christian-based program here, but when my daughter was born, I backed off of the full work weeks to spend more time with her. When I chose to back off, I had to sell out my equity in the gym. New owners, with new ideas, bought the place and I was let go. Granted, I was pretty irked, but my perfect little 2 month old glossed all of that over. So, I went from a salary to... Yeah. Nothing. And we managed. And I decided I was DONE with gymnastics.
Of course, less than 3 months later, I hit up a gym owner in the area for a position with her gym. What can I say? I love to coach. Also... My ego had taken a battering and I believe that God wanted me to go out of the sport knowing I had done well. So, I coached for this gym and, again... My kids did really well. I felt vindicated.
Now, maybe, you're asking yourself, "Hmmm. She said herself that there isn't enough money to make it through the month sometimes... Why on earth isn't she working?" Well, I'll tell you. I feel being with my daughter while she's young is more important. Not everyone sees an issue with daycare or whatever, but I just don't feel it's the best decision for MY family.
Of course, gym hours are great if you want to be a SAHM. I worked 3 days a week from 4 - 7:30. I got to spend the VAST majority of my time with my little one. It was great... Only... Who was getting neglected in the process?
Hmmmm.
Think, think, think.
Oh yeah! Remember that wonderful guy I'm married to? Yeah... I kinda forgot about him, too. Oops. :( I was getting home from the gym around 8:45 most nights... THEN, I'd get around to cooking and, on occasion, I might even clean a little. No, not often. I'm not very domestic, naturally. PSA : Always call before coming to our place, unless you don't mind sitting on the floor or sharing the couch with a pile of laundry. :)
Yeah. Those little niggling thoughts of "Melissa! You should be there for YOUR FAMILY. Not in the gym!" were still there, but I'm darn good at ignoring things I don't feel like dealing with. And it wasn't that I was telling God no. It wasn't! I was just avoiding the decision.
I confess I've had some issues with depression and by this point in our back story... I'm pregnant with our second kiddo (who is due in a couple of months. Woo hoo!). I can't have my lovely Paxil and I'm terrified I'm going to quit based on a decision made out of depression rather than out of what God actually wants me to do. I'll talk more about this later. The depression vs. God thing, I mean.
So yeah... (Wow I'm a rambler) Those billboards John and Lori set up in my brain... I'll be darned if they didn't work. Aaron and I chose last month to start tithing, NO MATTER WHAT. So, God threw us a whammy. Aaron works off of straight commission at his job (he's a plumber). Last month, he had the absolute worst month in his 3 year history with this company. Meaning... We didn't have ANYWHERE near enough money for house/car payments... Let alone silly things like electricity, groceries, gas, etc. But, we promised and I threw that tithe check in the plate anyway. (yes, for what it's worth, I twitched as it left my fingers)
And God provided. My mom (despite being broke herself) gave us the money to get us through the month. I say gave rather than loaned because when she offered I pointed out that no way in the world would we ever be able to pay her back. She said it was fine and handed over the wad of cash. Yeah, my mom is the one who God used as His vessel. And the woman will do anything for anyone... But, when it comes to money, it's just not something she has to share. So, the kudos go to our Creator.
That's step one in our journey into faith-based-living. We didn't have it, but God provided anyways. And I expect Him to continue because we're being faithful to His Word. Not saying I'm not a little scared... But, I AM saying that this Sunday, there'll be another check going into that offering plate.
My husband and I are involved in a Sunday School class at Dayspring Baptist Church here in Mobile. It's run by a husband and wife team of teachers, John and Lori, whom we love dearly. Each week in class, they strive to set up "billboards" in our brains reminding us of what we've talked about as the week goes on. Now, as much as John loves that sex comes up in some way, shape, or form each week (we're all married, we're allowed!)... Most of our lessons center around faithfulness. Of course to our spouses, but also to God. Particularly with our time and finances. Eek.
Now, I don't know about your family, but... We pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. I say pretty much because sometimes... We don't quite make it and have to show up at my Mama's door for dinner. I think a few weeks ago, I probably would have chosen death over admitting that to anyone. Now... Things are different.
As I mentioned in previous posts, I worked part time as a competitive gymnastics coach up until super recently. I used to own my own Christian-based program here, but when my daughter was born, I backed off of the full work weeks to spend more time with her. When I chose to back off, I had to sell out my equity in the gym. New owners, with new ideas, bought the place and I was let go. Granted, I was pretty irked, but my perfect little 2 month old glossed all of that over. So, I went from a salary to... Yeah. Nothing. And we managed. And I decided I was DONE with gymnastics.
Of course, less than 3 months later, I hit up a gym owner in the area for a position with her gym. What can I say? I love to coach. Also... My ego had taken a battering and I believe that God wanted me to go out of the sport knowing I had done well. So, I coached for this gym and, again... My kids did really well. I felt vindicated.
Now, maybe, you're asking yourself, "Hmmm. She said herself that there isn't enough money to make it through the month sometimes... Why on earth isn't she working?" Well, I'll tell you. I feel being with my daughter while she's young is more important. Not everyone sees an issue with daycare or whatever, but I just don't feel it's the best decision for MY family.
Of course, gym hours are great if you want to be a SAHM. I worked 3 days a week from 4 - 7:30. I got to spend the VAST majority of my time with my little one. It was great... Only... Who was getting neglected in the process?
Hmmmm.
Think, think, think.
Oh yeah! Remember that wonderful guy I'm married to? Yeah... I kinda forgot about him, too. Oops. :( I was getting home from the gym around 8:45 most nights... THEN, I'd get around to cooking and, on occasion, I might even clean a little. No, not often. I'm not very domestic, naturally. PSA : Always call before coming to our place, unless you don't mind sitting on the floor or sharing the couch with a pile of laundry. :)
Yeah. Those little niggling thoughts of "Melissa! You should be there for YOUR FAMILY. Not in the gym!" were still there, but I'm darn good at ignoring things I don't feel like dealing with. And it wasn't that I was telling God no. It wasn't! I was just avoiding the decision.
I confess I've had some issues with depression and by this point in our back story... I'm pregnant with our second kiddo (who is due in a couple of months. Woo hoo!). I can't have my lovely Paxil and I'm terrified I'm going to quit based on a decision made out of depression rather than out of what God actually wants me to do. I'll talk more about this later. The depression vs. God thing, I mean.
So yeah... (Wow I'm a rambler) Those billboards John and Lori set up in my brain... I'll be darned if they didn't work. Aaron and I chose last month to start tithing, NO MATTER WHAT. So, God threw us a whammy. Aaron works off of straight commission at his job (he's a plumber). Last month, he had the absolute worst month in his 3 year history with this company. Meaning... We didn't have ANYWHERE near enough money for house/car payments... Let alone silly things like electricity, groceries, gas, etc. But, we promised and I threw that tithe check in the plate anyway. (yes, for what it's worth, I twitched as it left my fingers)
And God provided. My mom (despite being broke herself) gave us the money to get us through the month. I say gave rather than loaned because when she offered I pointed out that no way in the world would we ever be able to pay her back. She said it was fine and handed over the wad of cash. Yeah, my mom is the one who God used as His vessel. And the woman will do anything for anyone... But, when it comes to money, it's just not something she has to share. So, the kudos go to our Creator.
That's step one in our journey into faith-based-living. We didn't have it, but God provided anyways. And I expect Him to continue because we're being faithful to His Word. Not saying I'm not a little scared... But, I AM saying that this Sunday, there'll be another check going into that offering plate.
Welcome to your "new normal"
When God first gave me the inkling that my time in the gym was up, He did so in quite a dramatic fashion. When my Little Bit was 18 months old, I noticed some symptoms of type one diabetes. Remember me mentioning the MCAT? I read a lot and am fairly medically astute (considering I didn't follow the path I'd originally chosen for my life). So, Ainsley's personality change (oh she was awful all of a sudden!), frequent urination, and insatiable thirst really had my mommy radar kick into overdrive. I mentioned it to my mom, who is a type 2 diabetic, that perhaps we should do a quick fingerstick on Ainsley. That wasn't well received. :) I believe the phrase was "We are NOT making the baby bleed because you're paranoid." OK... I admit, I can be dramatic, sometimes. So, I let it go.
Less than a week later, while driving home from the gym, I called my mom who was watching Ainsley to see how the afternoon had gone. She informed me that Ainsley had wet through her diaper, but that her jeans had been thrown in the dryer and all was well. Now, let me tell you a bit about my Mama. LOL She feels that God put her on this earth to take care of that grandbaby. In fact, I think she's still miffed that Aaron and I didn't offer to sign over all rights to my child when she was born. By this, I mean, she changes a diaper roughly every 15 minutes (I'm not kidding). So, there was no way Ainsley had had a diaper on long enough to warrant her jeans getting wet. I demanded that she test Ainsley's blood sugar with her home meter. She grumbled but complied. The meter read "hi" which in the OneTouch world is a blood sugar of over 600. (A normal person's run from about 80 - 120, I believe)
I'm pretty sure I broke some land speed records getting to my mom's place to get Ainsley and back out to the Children's hospital 45 minutes away. Sadly, my instincts had proven right. My baby was type one diabetic. Now, the blessing in this is that we caught it very early. I thank God so much for that because, although people don't seem to realize it, diabetes is DEADLY.
We're not talking chubby kids who have unhealthy diets. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body mistakenly attacks the pancreas like it's a virus and damages it to the point where it can't do its job and supply the body with insulin-- which, if you don't know, is required for life. Type 2 is something different altogether and it irks me to this day that people don't realize that the diseases have nothing in common but their name. I blame the general need to over simplify EVERYTHING. But, I digress...
Ainsley was quickly admitted to the hospital and given... Get this... 1 unit of fast acting insulin and one unit of old school demon insulin called NPH. Do you know how much a unit is? Let's take a drop of water, shall we... It's about half of that. That bitty little amount of insulin dropped Ainsley's blood sugar from 587 (in triage) down to 63 within 3 hours. I sat in her hospital room in shock. How could my perfect little princess have an incurable disease? It just didn't make sense to me. That kinda stuff happened to other people. Not us! Aaron had run home to get Ainsley and me some clothes... Ainsley had given up on fighting her IV and was sleeping... And I was sitting there praying to God that this was all some insane mistake. I wasn't even crying, because... Come on. Seriously? My kid wasn't sick... Look how cute she is!
The med student who we'd met in the ER came up to check on us. I asked if if she was SURE that my baby had diabetes. She looked at me for a second and then started crying and said, "Yes. I'm so sorry." Which released the flood gates. I bawled. I'm pretty sure if I could have found some sackcloth and ashes on the peds floor of the hospital, I would have done it up right. It felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest. The poor little med student retreated after she gave me a hug and I did was any self respecting parent does. I crawled into the bed with my angel and hugged her tight and cried some more.
We were in the hospital for 2½ days. Because we'd caught Ainsley's symptoms early (here I am kicking myself because I knew almost a week prior), the endocrinologist told me that Ainsley would not have even had a hospital stay had it not been a Friday night. I'm grateful for that hospital stay, though. It gave me and Aaron time to cope with her diagnosis and learn to fake a level of "OK-ness" with it and all it entailed.
We came home, though... And I researched my fanny off, trying to learn what I could about diabetes in such a young child. My googling led me to www.childrenwithdiabetes.com which turned out to be a lifesaver for me. I met people who had been living this life for years and are OK with it. They told me that we would settle into what they called "a new normal".
A new normal? Right... Have you ever seen a child under the age of 2 have low blood sugar? They can't TELL you what's wrong, so there's either a serious shaking fit (terrifying to see) or else they just try to go to sleep. Bad part about that is... If you don't catch it, there's that possibility they won't wake back up. Luckily, Ainsley's never been one of those kids who likes her sleep. So, if she tried to have a nap, out came the meter and nine times out of ten, she was low. Other bad things can happen from blood sugar being too low or too high... Seizures, vomiting, comas... I praise God we've only had the puking once and have not experienced any others. How on EARTH do you get used to that??
It's been a shade over 7 months, now. Ainsley's blood sugar readings bounced around at the 400 mark for a month or so after diagnosis... We changed insulins (remember me calling NPH demon-insulin? That was the first stuff to go)... She was still running higher than I'd like... I researched some more... Hey! Insulin pumps! That sounded promising. The endo informed us that they don't pump with babies.
...right. So, Ainsley got herself a little pink insulin pump about 3½ months into diagnosis (what can I say? I'm persuasive... ;) ) and now, her blood sugar hovers in the 100s, sometimes low 200s. Which makes us all happy.
Remember me mentioning God was nudging me to leave the gym and be at home? Well, Ainsley was always home with me during the day and only stayed with Grandmama for the 4 hours 3 days a week Mama worked... At our last endo appointment, our CDE (certified diabetes educator) pointed out that Ainsley had great numbers during the day, but her dinner-time numbers were usually a good bit higher. Turns out Grandmama and PawPaw have a really hard time telling the Princess no.
That stung, I've got to admit. Ainsley had nice safe numbers as long as she was with me. As soon as my attention went to other people's kids (AKA my gymnasts)... It took a downward turn. Not an unsafe turn... My mom's not irresponsible... But, the numbers definitely creeped back into territory I'd rather avoid. Eye opening, huh? But... Perhaps not enough, as I was still working.
I wish I could say "so I quit and we lived happily ever after", but I'm not to that point in getting you caught up just yet. But, I CAN say that the "new normal" I was told about has finally hit. A newcomer to the world of T1D joined the CWD chat the other night. He's in Alabama and his son was recently diagnosed... And you know what I said?
"I know it's SO hard right now. And I'm sorry. But... In time, it just becomes life. You WILL settle into a 'new normal' and fingersticks and shots... Pretty soon they're as routine as getting dressed in the morning."
Wow. I guess we settled into our "new normal" without me even realizing it. I was so surprised that those words had come from my keyboard-- and even more surprised that I genuinely meant them. Glory to God for giving me peace with this disease... And for giving me friends who've been there and are coping just fine.
Stay tuned for more on my journey towards God's plan (if it's any consolation-- I DO get there eventually!)...
Less than a week later, while driving home from the gym, I called my mom who was watching Ainsley to see how the afternoon had gone. She informed me that Ainsley had wet through her diaper, but that her jeans had been thrown in the dryer and all was well. Now, let me tell you a bit about my Mama. LOL She feels that God put her on this earth to take care of that grandbaby. In fact, I think she's still miffed that Aaron and I didn't offer to sign over all rights to my child when she was born. By this, I mean, she changes a diaper roughly every 15 minutes (I'm not kidding). So, there was no way Ainsley had had a diaper on long enough to warrant her jeans getting wet. I demanded that she test Ainsley's blood sugar with her home meter. She grumbled but complied. The meter read "hi" which in the OneTouch world is a blood sugar of over 600. (A normal person's run from about 80 - 120, I believe)
I'm pretty sure I broke some land speed records getting to my mom's place to get Ainsley and back out to the Children's hospital 45 minutes away. Sadly, my instincts had proven right. My baby was type one diabetic. Now, the blessing in this is that we caught it very early. I thank God so much for that because, although people don't seem to realize it, diabetes is DEADLY.
We're not talking chubby kids who have unhealthy diets. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body mistakenly attacks the pancreas like it's a virus and damages it to the point where it can't do its job and supply the body with insulin-- which, if you don't know, is required for life. Type 2 is something different altogether and it irks me to this day that people don't realize that the diseases have nothing in common but their name. I blame the general need to over simplify EVERYTHING. But, I digress...
Ainsley was quickly admitted to the hospital and given... Get this... 1 unit of fast acting insulin and one unit of old school demon insulin called NPH. Do you know how much a unit is? Let's take a drop of water, shall we... It's about half of that. That bitty little amount of insulin dropped Ainsley's blood sugar from 587 (in triage) down to 63 within 3 hours. I sat in her hospital room in shock. How could my perfect little princess have an incurable disease? It just didn't make sense to me. That kinda stuff happened to other people. Not us! Aaron had run home to get Ainsley and me some clothes... Ainsley had given up on fighting her IV and was sleeping... And I was sitting there praying to God that this was all some insane mistake. I wasn't even crying, because... Come on. Seriously? My kid wasn't sick... Look how cute she is!
The med student who we'd met in the ER came up to check on us. I asked if if she was SURE that my baby had diabetes. She looked at me for a second and then started crying and said, "Yes. I'm so sorry." Which released the flood gates. I bawled. I'm pretty sure if I could have found some sackcloth and ashes on the peds floor of the hospital, I would have done it up right. It felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest. The poor little med student retreated after she gave me a hug and I did was any self respecting parent does. I crawled into the bed with my angel and hugged her tight and cried some more.
We were in the hospital for 2½ days. Because we'd caught Ainsley's symptoms early (here I am kicking myself because I knew almost a week prior), the endocrinologist told me that Ainsley would not have even had a hospital stay had it not been a Friday night. I'm grateful for that hospital stay, though. It gave me and Aaron time to cope with her diagnosis and learn to fake a level of "OK-ness" with it and all it entailed.
We came home, though... And I researched my fanny off, trying to learn what I could about diabetes in such a young child. My googling led me to www.childrenwithdiabetes.com which turned out to be a lifesaver for me. I met people who had been living this life for years and are OK with it. They told me that we would settle into what they called "a new normal".
A new normal? Right... Have you ever seen a child under the age of 2 have low blood sugar? They can't TELL you what's wrong, so there's either a serious shaking fit (terrifying to see) or else they just try to go to sleep. Bad part about that is... If you don't catch it, there's that possibility they won't wake back up. Luckily, Ainsley's never been one of those kids who likes her sleep. So, if she tried to have a nap, out came the meter and nine times out of ten, she was low. Other bad things can happen from blood sugar being too low or too high... Seizures, vomiting, comas... I praise God we've only had the puking once and have not experienced any others. How on EARTH do you get used to that??
It's been a shade over 7 months, now. Ainsley's blood sugar readings bounced around at the 400 mark for a month or so after diagnosis... We changed insulins (remember me calling NPH demon-insulin? That was the first stuff to go)... She was still running higher than I'd like... I researched some more... Hey! Insulin pumps! That sounded promising. The endo informed us that they don't pump with babies.
...right. So, Ainsley got herself a little pink insulin pump about 3½ months into diagnosis (what can I say? I'm persuasive... ;) ) and now, her blood sugar hovers in the 100s, sometimes low 200s. Which makes us all happy.
Remember me mentioning God was nudging me to leave the gym and be at home? Well, Ainsley was always home with me during the day and only stayed with Grandmama for the 4 hours 3 days a week Mama worked... At our last endo appointment, our CDE (certified diabetes educator) pointed out that Ainsley had great numbers during the day, but her dinner-time numbers were usually a good bit higher. Turns out Grandmama and PawPaw have a really hard time telling the Princess no.
That stung, I've got to admit. Ainsley had nice safe numbers as long as she was with me. As soon as my attention went to other people's kids (AKA my gymnasts)... It took a downward turn. Not an unsafe turn... My mom's not irresponsible... But, the numbers definitely creeped back into territory I'd rather avoid. Eye opening, huh? But... Perhaps not enough, as I was still working.
I wish I could say "so I quit and we lived happily ever after", but I'm not to that point in getting you caught up just yet. But, I CAN say that the "new normal" I was told about has finally hit. A newcomer to the world of T1D joined the CWD chat the other night. He's in Alabama and his son was recently diagnosed... And you know what I said?
"I know it's SO hard right now. And I'm sorry. But... In time, it just becomes life. You WILL settle into a 'new normal' and fingersticks and shots... Pretty soon they're as routine as getting dressed in the morning."
Wow. I guess we settled into our "new normal" without me even realizing it. I was so surprised that those words had come from my keyboard-- and even more surprised that I genuinely meant them. Glory to God for giving me peace with this disease... And for giving me friends who've been there and are coping just fine.
Stay tuned for more on my journey towards God's plan (if it's any consolation-- I DO get there eventually!)...
Our foray into faith...
Ah, where to start, where to start...
I guess I could always introduce myself. Hi! I'm Melissa... I'm a SAHM in Mobile, Alabama. I have a wonderful husband named Aaron and a 26 month old daughter named Ainsley Faith... Ah, and don't let me forget that we also have a little boy, Calvin Caleb, due on September 28th of this year. Which will, of course, complete our family. Why, you ask? Well, number one, I'm NOT a fan of pregnancy and two... I have a bit of a clothing addiction when it comes to my kids. If they can't be dressed to the nines, my feelings are hurt. :) So, realistically, we can't afford another one!!!
I've always been a gymnastics coach. Since I was about 16, that has been my job of choice. And despite my studying and preparations throughout college, I did NOT take the MCAT as planned because I chose gym life over a life of actually having money. Ha! Ya know, when I pay bills, I really wonder about my sanity in that decision. Very recently, I had to make a tough decision... God called me to leave the gymnastics community and focus on my family. I say recently... He's been on me for a few months at least.. It was only recently that I listened.
Yes, horrible, I know... But, let me give you the background. I've been a Christian since I was 13. I have a spiritual gift of faith (believe, me... I have faith in God that is USUALLY unshakable... Until, of course, he asked me to leave my "life") and am generally pretty darn trusting of God. Or so I've always thought.
Now, coaching isn't some big money-maker. In fact, I would say that with my most recent coaching job, I probably earned ALMOST enough money for gas to and fro and to compensate the wear and tear on my little Corolla... But, I AM a good coach. My girls consistently win their divisions at meets, qualify to regionals, make the state teams, etc... And I do love my gymnasts. Those little girls are fantastic!
With this blog, I'm going to talk about how God called me to leave the gymnastics community, how He demanded more faithfulness in our family's finances, and any other fun stuff He shows me along the way. And I'm awfully loquacious so... Get ready for some reading! LOL! I'll stop here so that this is broken down into palatable sections, just for ease of reading (even though I shall post the next segment in our foray into a life of faith within the hour).
I guess I could always introduce myself. Hi! I'm Melissa... I'm a SAHM in Mobile, Alabama. I have a wonderful husband named Aaron and a 26 month old daughter named Ainsley Faith... Ah, and don't let me forget that we also have a little boy, Calvin Caleb, due on September 28th of this year. Which will, of course, complete our family. Why, you ask? Well, number one, I'm NOT a fan of pregnancy and two... I have a bit of a clothing addiction when it comes to my kids. If they can't be dressed to the nines, my feelings are hurt. :) So, realistically, we can't afford another one!!!
I've always been a gymnastics coach. Since I was about 16, that has been my job of choice. And despite my studying and preparations throughout college, I did NOT take the MCAT as planned because I chose gym life over a life of actually having money. Ha! Ya know, when I pay bills, I really wonder about my sanity in that decision. Very recently, I had to make a tough decision... God called me to leave the gymnastics community and focus on my family. I say recently... He's been on me for a few months at least.. It was only recently that I listened.
Yes, horrible, I know... But, let me give you the background. I've been a Christian since I was 13. I have a spiritual gift of faith (believe, me... I have faith in God that is USUALLY unshakable... Until, of course, he asked me to leave my "life") and am generally pretty darn trusting of God. Or so I've always thought.
Now, coaching isn't some big money-maker. In fact, I would say that with my most recent coaching job, I probably earned ALMOST enough money for gas to and fro and to compensate the wear and tear on my little Corolla... But, I AM a good coach. My girls consistently win their divisions at meets, qualify to regionals, make the state teams, etc... And I do love my gymnasts. Those little girls are fantastic!
With this blog, I'm going to talk about how God called me to leave the gymnastics community, how He demanded more faithfulness in our family's finances, and any other fun stuff He shows me along the way. And I'm awfully loquacious so... Get ready for some reading! LOL! I'll stop here so that this is broken down into palatable sections, just for ease of reading (even though I shall post the next segment in our foray into a life of faith within the hour).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
